Today’s scripture: Acts 2:1–4, 37–42 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
In the evangelical church in which I was raised, the Trinity was comprised of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible. I truly do not remember the Holy Spirit being mentioned in any significant way. And probably because the Holy Spirit wasn’t mentioned much, Pentecost wasn’t either.
This is a pitiful shame since from the earliest time Christianity has observed three major holy days: Christmas, Good Friday/Easter, and Pentecost. I’ve come to realize that what was true for the evangelical church when I was growing up is still true, decades and decades and decades later, in evangelical churches today. Except for those evangelical churches which are charismatic or Pentecostal, annually celebrating Pentecost as the descent of the Holy Spirit is unusual. Sometimes it conflicts with Memorial Day or, God forbid, Mothers Day, and those holidays take precedence in many churches. As well, members of those churches just have no idea. I’ll never forget asking the choir director of a fairly formal American Baptist congregation which I pastored to choose an anthem (yes, they sang anthems, which shows you how formal that church was) that emphasized Pentecost Sunday. She came back to me, very confused after checking her dictionary, wanting to know where she could find music related to a Jewish harvest festival observed fifty days after Passover.
From my point of view, evangelical churches seem to have so much going in their favor: seeking to be active disciples of Jesus Christ, taking the Bible seriously, and having a high degree of commitment to the local church. Why is an emphasis on the empowerment of the people of God by the Holy Spirit missing?
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a result of history. The evangelical movement has its roots in the revivalism of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, generally on the American frontier, or what was the frontier at that time. The evangelical movement pointed toward a means of redemption through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. But what it produced was excessive individualism, in which, as was stated in a nineteenth century critique, “everyone’s hat was his [or her] own church.” Emphasis was on right doctrine, and it rarely included anything about the Holy Spirit beyond the Spirit’s power to convict one of sin. Right practice essentially consisted of the customs of polite society and of the particular congregation. Beyond that, one was allowed to be the rugged individualist that was required of one on the American frontier. And by definition, the Holy Spirit isn’t necessary to live that kind of life.
One, two, three centuries later, evangelicals still seem to want to conform to the societal standards of the age just past. Evangelicals continue to fail to appreciate that God seeks to transform us, so that through us as the Body of Christ those around us will experience Jesus Christ in the fullness and the freedom of God. And that requires the power of the Holy Spirit, at work in us and through us. May it be so!
Thought for the day: “Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away — whomever, in fact, our Master God invites” (Acts 2:38b, 39; The Message).
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.